Do you have seasonal allergies? I, fortunately, do not, however those that do can suffer greatly during certain times of the year. Acupuncture may be able to help. In fact I chuckle to myself when I see an article in the paper or a magazine talking of the power of acupuncture to help a variety of issues. I use it almost daily in an effort to help patients deal with health issues. It works fabulously for most patients. I saw an article in the local paper that said it may help with allergies sighting a German study showing its effectiveness compared to sham acupuncture or medications. The nice thing about acupuncture is that it is non-invasive relative to other procedures and has a longer lasting effect without the need for medications. Though insurance generally doesn’t cover medications for allergies, the benefits will most likely outweigh the meager costs! Give it a try!

Do you or your significant other have back pain? If one of you has back pain and the other doesn’t think it’s a big deal to them, that attitude can actually make the back pain worse, especially if you are female. A study of couples, showed that if your partner doesn’t think your pain is such a big deal, it can make the pain even worse. Some studies have shown that positive support and encouragement can make the feelings of pain better. However this study showed that the greater the hostility or criticism from a spouse, toward the one in pain, correlated with greater pain experienced by the one with low back pain. The bottom line is that if your loved one is in pain, be encouraging, supportive and positive. However if you cannot be positive at least don’t be critical. Either way, your chiropractor can help!!

Hi everyone, just wanted to forgo the usual health stuff to give thanks to all the first responders and wonderful people who are helping this great country through some nasty, natural catastrophes. It is heart warming to see the compassion, generosity, and heroism that comes from times like this. It is disasters such as these, that bring out the best in the good men and women of this wonderful United States, regardless of political affiliation. We are Americans, we will provide and survive and best of all we will cry, sigh, hold our heads high, roll up our sleeves, pull together and rebuild and replenish once again. May this help bring this nation closer together!!

Well, I trust everyone had an enjoyable Labor Day weekend and hope there wasn’t much labor involved. I know I tried to avoid anything laborious. The weather was wonderful and I did spend time outside in the yard doing semi-laborious things. Did you know fall is the time of year when there are a rash of back injuries due to yard work? In fact, this time of year tends to be second only to spring, for gardening or yard, clean-up-type, back injuries. Bending and lifting are the two main culprits that increase the risk of back issues. Tight hamstrings play a big roll in back problems with the guys however women are also susceptible. When bending forward, you must always try to hinge at the hips and avoid any significant time with the lower back rounded forward, especially with bending only partially. Forward bending distorts the fibers of the disc and can cause pain even if only performed for a short time. Enjoy your yard and the outdoors, be careful, and if you injure your back, call your chiropractor…they will help!!

Well I hope everyone still has their eye sight after the last eclipse passed through. It is already a week later and people are still talking about it. I thought it was very cool. Speaking of sight, our eyes contribute to neck motion, in that, if you catch something out of the corner of your eye, you will generally turn your head to look toward that object. Computers and cell phones are two technologies that contribute to neck issues, especially relative to posture. Most computer neck problems are head positioning issues by which the head is generally held forward of the neck and shoulder regions. It is what my profession calls a forward head carry. This is a terrible position for the neck to be in considering it is holding up an 8-10 pound head. This places extreme stress on the tissues of the neck to support a heavy head in less than optimal position. This injures the muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints of the neck as well as putting significant stress on the discs of the spine. Next time we will discuss a remedy for forward head carry!!